Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Ancestors Whisky Cask Porter

I made a strong brown beer last year and left it in some Islay whisky casks for 50 days. The aroma is all peat and smoke and wood and whisky. The flavour starts off as whisky before mellow ale takes over, occassionally displaying hops and finishing with wood and peat.

It was my first attempt and it is ready for sale, from the brewery, in small bottles.

Sorry for dragging up an old post, but I'm sitting here supping a bottle of Ancestors that a friend posted to me. Definitely getting the wood and whisky, slightly medicinal stuff, licorice, toasted wood. Sippage! And I like it :)

Have a bottle of Oooks waiting for another day. Lookin' forward to it!

Thanks Barry, good of you to comment. I have a theory for you to blow out the water, it is this: some get peat, others get TCP, split 50:50 in the population and not along gender or age lines. I used to get TCP but now I get peat.

Ah, Barry, now you're leading me to a more sophisticated theory and one bound to bore, thus being incontestable. I'll tell you it once I've made it up.

The casks were from Bruichladdich on Islay. It was (and still is, I think) the only independent distillery on the island and the only one to bottle there too. They make some of the peatiest stuff around. We bought malt from them too and shipped some to the big M at De Molen.

Nice. If I had of thought of it I would have asked about the whisky before and then checked with a mate, who has a crazy whisky selection, to see if he has any Bruichladdich. Would have been nice to compare.

Any idea what Menno used the malt for? I'm assuming it was peat-smoked? I'd be curious about trying some peat-smoked malt in my home brews. Its one of those flavours I have mixed feeling about. I like a little hint of it, although when it's in your face it can be pretty special :)

Actually, I found a mad German beer made on 100% Peat Malt, and dedicated to a bunch of Scottish fans down in Franken. Smokey George is pretty peaty! Haven't been able to get it since...

Yes, it was peated malt and at 90ppm phenol it doesn't come any peatier.

I use a little in a peated pale ale I've been making for new year for the last two years - hops and peat are a truly odd combo, don't work together at all but the beer sells really well.

Big M uses it in Blood, Sweat & Tears (Bruichladdich version) and a couple of others whose name I can't lay my hand on just at the moment. Ask him. Because he uses it in pretty heavy beers it works well.

E-mail me and I can send you a little in the post (malt that is) - 1% is obvious in an (abv) 5%er. 2% and it's the main player. Above that is ashtray land.

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I'm Eddie Gadd, Head Brewer of the Ramsgate Brewery on the East Kent Coast. I've been in the Biz for nearly 20 years, working for the big and the small, the greedy and the good. And now that I only work for myself I can say what I like, which is what I do here.

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